Tombstone (Episode)
: Looking for another article with the name Tombstone? Check out the Tombstone disambiguation page. Tombstone is the ninth episode of season three. When Tombstone is hired by Alisa Silvermane to kill a story the Daily Bugle is planning about her taking over her father's criminal empire Tombstone attempts to use his old friend, Joseph Robertson to do it. However, things are complicated when Robbie learns that his son, Randy is in Tombstone's new gang. Plot Tombstone receives a down payment for a job. As Tombstone asks when he will get the rest of the money his employer, Alisa Silvermane, tells Tombstone that he will get the rest of the money after he kills the exposé the Daily Bugle is planning on her and her organization. As Tombstone starts to leave the office Alisa reminds him to also destroy any incriminating photos they have of her. Tombstone replies that he plans to get a favor from an "old friend" that works at the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile at the Daily Bugle, Joseph Robertson talks to Peter Parker about the story they are going to run exposing Alisa Silvermane as New York City's newest crime lord. Peter then then says that he can't believe he once wanted to date her. Robbie says that even if Alisa Silvermane gets convicted they still have a new gang in town called the Bandanna Gang to worry about. Robbie reveals that he thinks New York City is no place to raise a son but is glad that Spider-Man makes the city safer. A short while later the Bandanna Gang breaks into a car dealership and they threaten the security guard. However, Spider-Man arrives and is able to save him. As the Bandanna Gang flees Spider-Man is able to capture one of them. Spider-Man is shocked to discover that the thug is really Randy Robertson, Joseph Robertson's son. Spider-Man is so shocked by this that he accidentally lets Randy escape. At that moment Tombstone goes to the Parker house to search for the incriminating photos of Alisa Silvermane. Tombstone bursts through the front door which frightens May Parker. Tombstone then demands to know where Peter Parker is. Tombstone begins to tear up the house looking for the incriminating pictures of Alisa Silvermane. May attempts to call the police but Tombstone rips the phone out of the wall. Tombstone tears apart Peter's bedroom looking for the pictures. Tombstone finally finds them in Peter's dark room. Peter's spare Spider-Man costume is hanging on a pole. However, Tombstone doesn't see it. May is then able to get the phone and call the police. However, Tombstone grabs the phone from May and yells that she has made him mad. Tombstone is about to harm May until he finds the photos of Alisa under Peter's mattress. As Spider-Man arrives he sees Tombstone running out the front door. Worried for his Aunt May, Spider-Man goes inside and checks on her and sees that Tombstone did not harm her. Spider-Man then goes after Tombstone. Spider-Man follows Tombstone to the Queensboro Bridge and lands on top of the car as Tombstone is driving. Spider-Man forces Tombstone to stop and Tombstone is thrown from the car. Spider-Man places Tombstone in a chokehold. However, Tombstone is able to pick up Spider-Man and slam him into a car door. As Tombstone runs away Spider-Man captures him in webbing. However, Tombstone is able to break free from the webbing and grab Spider-Man. Tombstone then throws Spider-Man off the bridge and he is able to get away. Back at their hideout Randy brags to the Bandana Gang about how he was able to escape Spider-Man. One of the gang members tells Robbie that for the next part of his initiation he will need a gun. Randy gets really nervous about using a gun but he tells the gang that he has a gun at home. Meanwhile back at the Parker house, Peter cleans up the mess that Tombstone made. May frantically tells Peter what Tombstone did. However, Peter tells her that the important thing is that she is okay. As May leaves the room she tells Peter that he should find another job that isn't so dangerous. After searching his room Peter realizes that the only thing missing are the incriminating photos of Alisa Silvermane. Peter also realizes that Robbie is in danger because he has the only other copies of the photos. Peter then gets into his Spider-Man costume and web swings to Robbie's house to warn him about Tombstone. However, Spider-Man wonders if he should also tell him that Randy is in the Bandana Gang. Meanwhile Robbie returns home and his wife, Martha tells him that Rand has been skipping classes for over a week. Robbie says that he can't believe that Randy could do that. Martha then gets angry and says that Robbie is so busy that he doesn't even know his son. However, Martha quickly apologizes and says that she is just worried about Randy. At that moment Randy sneaks into the house and goes into his father's office. Randy then opens a drawer on his father's desk to get his gun. However, Robbie walks into the office and catches Randy. Robbie then sees a bandana in Randy's pocket. Robbie scolds his son for being in a gang. However, Randy tells his father that the gang cares for him and they are like family. Spider-Man arrives and peeks through the window and realizes that Robbie already knows about his son. At that moment Robbie gets a phone call from Tombstone. Robbie is shocked to hear from him. Tombstone then tells Robbie to meet him so they can talk about Alisa Silvermane. Later that night Robbie arrives at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park and Spider-Man secretly follows him. Randy walks inside the park's mausoleum and sees Tombstone. However, Robbie is shocked to see that he has chalk white skin. Spider-Man climbs on the wall staying out of sight. As Spider-Man watches he is shocked to hear that Robbie and Tombstone are friends. Tombstone then demands that Robbie kill the Alisa Silvermane story. When Robbie refuses to kill the Silvermane story Tombstone threatens to harm him. However, Spider-Man intervenes and saves Robbie. Spider-Man then attacks Tombstone. During their fight Tombstone slams Spider-Man into a wall causing a part of the ceiling to collapse. The falling debris almost falls on top of Robbie. However, Spider-Man stops it with his webbing. Tombstone then causes the entire mausoleum to collapse and he is able to escape. However, Spider-Man are Robbie are also able to get out before they could be crushed. When Spider-Man and Robbie get to safety Spider-Man asks Robbie how he knows Tombstone. Robbie then reveals that Tombstone's real name is Lonnie Lincoln and they were childhood friends. One day Robbie and Lonnie went to a grocery store to buy some ice cream. However, the store was closed. Lonnie threw his basketball and accidentally broke the store's window. Lonnie told Robbie that they could steal some ice cream. Robbie at first refused but Lonnie talked him into it. However, the police arrived. Robbie managed to escape but Lonnie was arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center. Robbie was able to graduate high school while Lonnie became a criminal. As a young adult Robbie got a job as a cub reporter for a small newspaper company. One night Robbie got a tip about a break in at the Spalding Chemical Plant. As Robbie got to the Spaulding Chemical Plant he went inside and saw Lonnie Lincoln waiting for him. Lonnie told Robbie that he was the one that called in the tip to the newspaper. Lonnie revealed that he was framing Robbie for the break in since he was wearing gloves and Robbie wasn't meaning Robbie's fingerprints were everywhere. Lonnie then activated the alarm and told Robbie that when he gets out of prison they will be even. Lonnie then ran down a scaffolding to get away. However, Lonnie tripped and fell into a vat of chemicals. Robbie believed that Lonnie had perished after falling into the chemicals. When the police arrived Robbie told them what happened and his co-workers at the paper backed him up that he received a tip about a break in. Because of this Robbie wasn't arrested. After hearing the story Spider-Man starts to web swing to take Robbie home. Meanwhile back at the Robertson house, Martha goes upstairs to talk to Randy. However, as Martha opens the door to his she sees that Randy is not in there and that he sneaked out of his window. Randy goes to an abandoned warehouse and meets the Bandana Gang's leader Tombstone. Tombstone tells Robbie that they are going to be good friends. A short while later Spider-Man and Robbie arrive at Robbie's house. Spider-Man tells Robbie that he is going to look for Tombstone and that Robbie should get back to his family. As Robbie enters the front Martha runs up to Robbie and frantically says that Randy has sneaked out. after hearing this Robbie goes to his home office and checks his desk to see if his gun is still there. Robbie is relieved to see that his gun is still in his desk drawer. At that moment the phone rings and Robbie answers it. It is Tombstone and he tells Robbie to meet him at the Spalding Chemical Plant because he is going to make Randy take the fall for his crimes, similar to what he tried to do the Robbie several years ago. As Tombstone hangs up Robbie gives his gun to Martha and tells her to get rid of it because he doesn't want anymore gins in the house. As Tombstone and the Bandana Gang arrive at Spalding Chemical, Tombstone orders his men to grab a weapon and break in. Randy tells Tombstone that he is unsure about committing a crime. However, Tombstone replies that if he does this he will be part of Bandana Gang family. However, Randy is the only one not wearing gloves so his finger prints will be all over the crime scene. Tombstone is setting Randy up the exact same way he tried to frame Robbie all those years ago. Cast Cameos *J. Jonah Jameson (Mentioned only) *Silvermane (Mentioned only) Locations *Earth-92131 :*New York City ::*Alisa Silvermane's office ::*Daily Bugle ::*Car dealership ::*Parker house ::*Queensboro Bridge ::*Tombstone's hideout ::*Joseph Robertson's house ::*Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park ::*Grocery store ::*High school graduation ::*Spaulding Chemical Plant Items *Web shooters Continuity *There are a few references to Tablet of Time and Ravages of Time in this episode. :*When Peter Parker learns that Alisa Silvermane has taken over Silvermane's criminal empire he states that he can't believe he once wanted to date Alisa. However, they never actually dated because Alisa ended up being kidnapped by Hammerhead. Trivia *Tombstone drives a hearse in this episode like he did in Ravages of Time. *When Spider-Man confronts Tombstone at the Queensboro Bridge he asks Tombstone if he gets his jollies by attacking old ladies. Getting your jollies is a slang term meaning to have sex and get sexual pleasure, usually with many people. *When Spider-Man is debating on whether to tell Robbie that Randy is in the Bandana Gang he says "Where's Dear Abby when you need her." Dear Abby is an advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Philips under the name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Philips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name. *This is only one of a few episodes that showed a real gun instead of a laser gun. Usually the network censors forbade real guns from appearing on Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The gun probably got into the episode because it was never actually fired. *When Tombstone sees Spider-Man at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Tombstone says "You again!" Spider-Man then shouts "Revoltin' isn't it". Spider-Man's line could be a reference to The Life of Riley. The Life of Riley was a popular radio sitcom in the 1940's which starred William Bendix in the title role. The actual line was "What a revoltin' development". The catchphrase was later used by the Thing of the Fantastic Four. *During the episode Spider-Man calls Tombstone the Crypt Keeper. The Crypt Keeper was the host of the horror anthology series, Tales from the Crypt which aired from 1989 to 1996 on HBO. *When Spider-Man and Tombstone fight in the mausoleum Spider-Man says "He ain't my brother. He's heavy." This is a quote from the 1938 movie, Boys Town. The actual quote it "He ain't heavy. He's my brother." This is also the slogan for the non-profit organization Boys Town which is dedicated to helping children and families as wells as the Boys Town National Research Hospital. *The episode, Guilty causes a slight continuity error with this episode. In Guilty a computer file states that Joseph Robertson was born in 1965. However, during a flashback to Robbie's high school graduation in this episode a banner says that Robbie graduated in 1975. This is not possible since Robbie would have only been ten years old at the time. The 1975 date is wrong. Since Robbie appears to be in his early thirties it makes more since that he was born in 1965. This means that Robbie would have graduated in 1983 at the age of eighteen. *Tombstone's origin in the comics is slightly different then what was shown in this episode. In the comics Lonnie Lincoln was trapped in an airtight chamber and breathed in an experimental gas which gave him his super strength. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series the gas was changed to a vat of chemicals. *In Randy Robertson's room there is a poster on the wall that says Horror House. Horror House is an actual movie that was released in 1969. In the movie a group of teenagers gather at an old mansion and are murdered one by one. The survivors must discover who among them is the killer. Episode review Quotes "A fine down payment. But when do I get the rest Ms. Silver. Or can I finally call you Ms. Silvermane?" : '-Tombstone' "We're finally going to blow this Silvermane story wide open. But it seems no sooner that one problem gets licked when something worse turns up. See. Take this Bandanna Gang for instance. They're terrorizing everyone. I get to thinking that the city is no place to raise a son. I often try to convince Jonah that Spider-Man is making this city safer to live in. But I guess Spider-Man can't do everything." "No. He might give it a try." : '-Joseph Robertson & Peter Parker' (Spider-Man catches the Bandanna Gang breaking into a car dealership.) "Isn't it a little late for a test drive?" : '-Spider-Man' "Randy Robertson! What's he doing with these punks? Is crime going to infect and poison everyone I know?" : '-Spider-Man' "Where's the Parker kid? We have some business to discuss." : '-Tombstone' "The name's Tombstone and I want Parker's negatives." : '-Tombstone' "Was it right for me to just lat Randy go like that. Poor Robbie. He can't possibly have any idea what his sons been up to. But do I want to be the one to tell him?" : '-Spider-Man' "Now you've made me mad!" : '-Tombstone' "Where do you get off attacking defenseless old ladies! Is that how you get your jollies!" "That was work. This is how I get my jollies!" (Tombstone slams Spider-Man into a car door.) : '-Spider-Man & Tombstone' "I didn't say I was finished with you rockhead!" : '-Spider-Man' "I'm late for a funeral, yours!" : '-Tombstone' "Way to go Spidey. You get angry, you get careless, and you lose your man." : '-Spider-Man' "The amazing Randy slips right out of the Spider's web." "Spider-Man, he's nothin' but a wimp in red and blue spandex." : '-Bandana Gang member & Randy Robertson' "Who known who else will show up here. Some giant lizard, a human octopus! Peter you really must find some other line of work." : '-May Parker' "Everything's here but the negatives for the Alisa Silvermane exposé. Tombstone must have taken them. That means Robbie's in trouble. He's got the only other copies! I've gotta warn him about Tombstone! But should I tell him about Randy too? Where's Dear Abby when you need her?" : '-Spider-Man' "What is this! Your not in that gang are you! Are you!" "What if I am! At least they care about me!" "And you think we don't!" "The poseys always there for me, like a family! And I'm gonna prove myself to 'em!" : '-Joseph Robertson & Randy Robertson' (Robbie answers the phone.) "Hey homie. What's up?" "Who is this?" "Don't tell me you've forgotten my voice Mr. Straight Arrow." "Lonnie. But it can't be. I thought you were. . ." "Don't be so sure I'm not. I wanna meet and talk about old times." "I can't right now." "Oh yes you can. See I especially wanna rap about a good friend of mine. A foxy lady by the name of Alisa Silvermane." : '-Tombstone & Joseph Robertson' "What's wrong with Robbie? It looks like he's seen a ghost." : '-Spider-Man' "This is a cheery little spot. Glad I came along for the ride." : '-Spider-Man' "I still can't believe your alive." "Am I?" "Ug, what happened to you?" "Oh this? Just a little mishap. You haven't changed much though. Still a straight arrow." : '-Joseph Robertson & Tombstone' "Robbie and Tombstone. Buddies?" : '-Spider-Man' "You again!" "Revoltin' isn't it!" : '-Tombstone & Spider-Man' "I was sloppy last time Crypt Keeper! This time I'm at the top of my game!" : '-Spider-Man' "I'm gonna prepare a coffin for you. I real flat one brother!" "He ain't my brother he's heavy!" : '-Tombstone & Spider-Man' "I had no idea he'd become this underworld hitman, this walking Tombstone." : '-Joseph Robertson' "It's so strange to see Robbie this way. To Peter Parker he always seems so strong, so proud. How ironic that in his moment of despair he seems stronger to me now more than ever." : '-Spider-Man' "Hey kid. You and me are gonna be good friends." : '-Tombstone' (Robbie answers the phone.) "Hello." "We've still got lots of catching up to do. I tell you what. Lets meet at the Spaulding Chemical plant. For old times sake." "Spaulding Chemical! What for/" "How 'bout this. There's a new patsy about to take the fall. Your son!" : '-Joseph Robertson & Tombstone' Category:A-Z Category:Season 3 episodes Category:Episodes Category:The Sins of the Fathers